Moscow would like to receive an explanation concerning European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker's proposal to establish the European Union's joint army.

Moscow would like to receive an explanation concerning European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker's proposal to establish the European Union's joint army.

"We would like to understand what this idea means because European politicians have already addressed such a topic at different levels in the past 30 years. But it is difficult to guess what Juncker meant this time," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexei Meshkov has said.

The European Commission president said on March 8 that the EU should create its own army in order to be able to respond to security threats facing the EU's member states and neighboring countries.

"Such an army would also help us to form common foreign and security policy and allow Europe to take on responsibility in the world," Juncker was quoted as saying by the website of the Welt am Sonntag newspaper.

Such a measure would also send a clear message to Russia that "we are serious about defending our European values," he said.